Search This Blog

Pages

First Watch-Foodie Dinner

Last night we were invited to attend a foodie dinner at First Watch in Mandarin. Since First Watch is on my "to try" list, I was very excited to get the invite! The restaurant is a Breakfast/Brunch place. It normally closes at 2:30, but they opened up at dinnertime just for us. We were treated to anything on the menu, so I went with the Sensational Skillet with Ham and Mushrooms (skillet includes potatoes, eggs, and cheese). I got my eggs scrambled and the meal came with an English Muffin and fresh fruit (which I did not get).

Everything was outstanding! The potatoes were cooked nicely and the cheese was melted all over the top. Everything went well together and tasted wonderful. The only slight issue I had is that the ham and mushroom content was very low. I counted 4 mushrooms in the whole skillet.

Ivan got 2 Chocolate Chip Pancakes with a side of bacon. ﻿I'm glad he didn't get 3 because the pancakes were huge! The menu warned us, but I still didn't believe it until the food came out. Seriously, dinner plate size! Ivan said the pancakes were very good and the middle had a high concentration of chocolate so it tasted like a cookie.

When our food came out, the servers also brought a BLT to our table. At first I thought it was a mistake, but they said that they wanted us to try their lunch options as well. The BLT had (in addition to the usual) a fried egg, cheese and mayo on multi grain bread. After taking one bite, we both said that this was the most delicious sandwich we have ever had. We aren't sure if it was the egg or the cheese, but something kicked this sandwich up a notch.

We were both extremely full and ready to go home and lay down...then the dessert came! The servers started bringing out Fresh Fruit Crepes - thin, sweet crepes wrapped around fresh fruit (bananas and strawberries), topped with low-fat organic strawberry yogurt, granola, cinnamon and sugar. For me, the best part was the homemade granola. It was sweet and crunchy and complimented the sauce. I managed to eat half of the crepe before I had to quit. Ivan claimed that he was also about to bust, but he ate the rest of mine anyway.

I liked the look of the restaurant, it was very open and inviting. One cool thing is that you can see right into the kitchen from every table. To me, that shows that they have nothing to hide!

While we were there we saw the best sign holder ever, which we referred to as the Bacon Man. Apparently, the Bacon Man is a creation by the Tube Dude. The Tube Dude used to build yachts until the recession, when business dried up. He started building the stick figures for fun until people started placing orders. Local sales are up to 2 dudes a day! I love stories like these :)

Comments

I wish I had had a chance to meet you at the event - we had a great time too! It's great to see that there are a few more Jax bloggers out there than I thought! I can't wait to take a look around your blog!

I am just a regular girl who loves food. Since I don't cook, I get to explore all that Jacksonville restaurants have to offer. I love finding new places as I am always up for trying something new. Follow me on my food adventures and you might just find a new favorite restaurant!